Oilers 2025-26 Report Cards: Mattias Janmark

As the offseason rolls on, so do the Edmonton Oilers’ player grades. The last report card graded Trent Frederic, and now we turn our attention to another struggling forward, Mattias Janmark.

Head coach Kris Knoblauch loves his aging veterans, and that’s what Janmark is. He was a dependable bottom-six player who primarily played on the wing but was often plugged in as the fourth-line centre occasionally. He got more playing time than he probably should’ve. The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder got 176 defensive zone starts and only started 29.86 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. He was trusted by Knoblauch defensively, which was detrimental. Let’s take a deeper look at his disappointing season.

2025-26 Performance

Janmark had another underwhelming season. He registered one goal and eight points in 43 games with a minus-8 rating, averaging 11:51 per game. He scored 10 goals in 66 games during his first season in Edmonton, but he has struggled ever since. He has just seven goals in his last 194 games.

His advanced stats were also putrid. When he was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Oilers had 41.07 percent of the shots, 36.74 percent of the scoring chances, 39.46 percent of the high-danger chances, and 26.32 percent of the goals. Those are some awful numbers, and he was a negative contributor all over the ice.

Injuries plagued Janmark this season. His last game was on Feb. 25 against the Anaheim Ducks, the first game after the Olympic break. The 33-year-old forward had surgery for an undisclosed injury in early March and was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.

His biggest role came on the penalty kill. However, the Oilers were still in the bottom half of the league in penalty killing percentage. In 64:39 of shorthanded ice time, he was on the ice for 10 goals against. He only blocked two shots in that time, which is not nearly enough. On a positive note, he registered one primary shorthanded assist and drew two penalties. But he still didn’t help improve the penalty kill.

What’s Janmark’s Future?

Janmark is entering the final season of his three-year deal with a $1.45 million cap hit. While he’s still under contract, does he still have a roster spot next season? The Oilers have new players in their bottom six, so the Swedish forward has hefty competition to remain in the lineup.

The Oilers acquired Colton Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline. He’s a pending restricted free agent (RFA), but he doesn’t have arbitration rights, so he won’t cost much to re-sign. Dach could be a valuable piece to the fourth line because he’s physical and gets under the opponent’s skin. The same could be said for Connor Clattenburg. Clattenburg had a cup of coffee with Edmonton. He played five games and scored as many goals as Janmark did in 43 games.

Then, there’s the emergence of Josh Samanski. Samanski has proven himself to be a solid fourth-line centre. He got an opportunity in Janmark’s absence, and he made the most of it. He’s a defensively responsible player, like Janmark, but he’s also younger and cheaper. He’s under contract for one more season at $975,000. Samanski is 24, Dach is 23, and Clattenburg is 21. Those three players are younger and provide more energy and physicality than Janmark.

Therefore, Janmark lacks a role on this team because other players have passed him by. The Oilers could look to trade him this summer and save some money on the salary cap in the process.

Overall Grade

This was another failed season for Janmark. He’s a speedy winger, but he doesn’t move the needle at all. He has zero offence in his game, and he gets caved when he’s on the ice. The veteran forward is invisible most nights and doesn’t do enough to help the team win.

Therefore, he gets an F for this campaign after getting a D last season, mainly because of his clutch playoff moments. Otherwise, he would’ve gotten an F last year as well.

He has played himself out of the lineup, so it will be interesting to see what happens with him this offseason. Do you agree with this grade? Has Janmark played his final game as an Oiler?

Keep following The Hockey Writers as we continue the Oilers’ player report cards throughout the offseason.

Advanced stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick